Let Me Introduce You to...

I've got someone I want you to meet.

Okay, actually I've got a couple of someones I want you to meet.

Have you heard of a Blind Date with a Book? It is a fun way to introduce readers to new authors, genres, & titles - kind of gamifying the experience for the reader. I have never personally been on a Blind Date before, but I've seen enough of them onscreen to know that normally they involve a lot of misses before hitting the bullseye. I want to help you skip the misses and go straight for the bullseye with my new Seasonal Book Box - the Blind Date with a Book Box.

Like a traditional Blind Date, agreeing to go on a Blind Date with a Book requires a leap of faith - faith in the one making the introduction; faith that she knows a little of what you like; faith that there could possible be a love connection; faith that she has your best interest at heart when she sets you up on your Blind Date...

So, before you decide to take that leap of faith with my Blind Date with a Book Box, sit back and let me share a little about your blind date.

Meet the Author.

I want to introduce you to one of my new favorite authors, British writer Georgette Heyer. I was first introduced to Georgette Heyer on a blind date myself, my sister, Lynda, making the introductions in late 2021. I was so enamored, so immediately in love with Heyer's feisty yet capable female lead, the complicated family relationships and spunky characters, the misunderstandings and reputation-ruining rumors all wrapped in a super satisfying ending, that I turned that initial blind date into an immensely popular book box a few months later, introducing my Monthly Book Club members to Georgette Heyer via The Grand Sophy Book Box in 2022.

So who was Georgette Heyer? Heyer (1902-1974) was an English novelist whose focus on Regency Romances paved the way for an entire new genre. In addition to writing Regency Romance, Heyer also wrote mysteries, her first published work being a mystery she wrote at the age of 17 for her brother. 

A few years later, Georgette Heyer married barrister George Ronald Rougier - someone who proved a great source for plot outlines for Heyer's later mysteries. (Oh! To be a fly on the wall around their family dinner table!)

But it is Heyer's Regency Romances that people are continually drawn to, works that were inspired by none other than Jane Austen. If you are a fan of Austen's works (and who isn't?), you will absolutely fall in love Heyer's writings. (Psst! If you're a fan of Bridgerton, you'll also be in for a treat because - same era.)

Connect with her Characters.

Like I said on Pretty Literate Live on Monday (click here to watch the replay), what is the point (much less, the fun!) in a blind date when you know all the details ahead of time? Most Blind Date with a Book experiences are truly that - blind - with the only information shared prior to the blind date being the genre and possibly one or two descriptors.

As Pretty Literate people, I know you want a little more intel in order to make an informed decision before taking that leap of faith, so in addition to sharing the author with you ahead of time, I am also giving you a little something about the two main characters. 

Heyer's heroine in this popular title is a 25-year-old country gentlewoman. Having never strayed far from her ancestral home, she is inexperienced of the world beyond her family's estate, one in which she has the run as its estate manager. She lives a quiet, predictable life, even if it is somewhat lonely and dull. She...

"...is a lovely character. Kind, considerate of her family and her staff, she is not afraid to show her own mind. She is aware of her brothers' character flaws but genuinely adores her younger brother. She deals with conflicts between the staff with the manner of a well-used mediator and she is content enough in her life in the country. Aware she will either have to marry or remain a spinster aunt to her elder brother’s yet-to-be-conceived children she hopes for a third way out by keeping house with her younger brother."*  

Enter the cad next door, someone from whose very gaze upon her (not to mention his attentions) could be enough to ruin her for life.

If that sounds like a book you'd enjoy, keep reading. 

Relish the Read.

I could go on and on about the Georgette Heyer novel we're featuring in the Blind Date with a Book Box, but instead I thought I'd give you a peek at what OTHER people are saying about this particular Heyer novel - 

• 'Elegant, witty and rapturously romantic' KATIE FFORDE
• 'A rollicking good read that will be of particular joy to Bridgerton viewers ... the permanent glister of scandal [...] ties the whole thing together' INDEPENDENT
• 'Utterly delightful' GUARDIAN
• 'Absolutely delicious tales of Regency heroes. . . Utter, immersive escapism' SOPHIE KINSELLA
• 'Georgette Heyer's Regency romances brim with elegance, wit and historical accuracy, and this is one of her finest and most entertaining ... Escapism of the highest order' DAILY MAIL
• 'If you haven't read Georgette Heyer yet, what a treat you have in store!' HARRIET EVANS
• 'Georgette Heyer is unbeatable.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 

Blind Date with a Book Box

The Blind Date with a Book Box is a limited run Seasonal Book Box with delivery around mid-February - just in time to celebrate Galentine's (13th) or Valentine's (14th) Day. 

Interested? Take a peek here and decide for yourself...but don't take too long. There are only a handful left of these one-of-a-kind book boxes and I would LOVE for for you to get one.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me via the contact form. I'd love to hear from you.

*quote = From First Page to Last website